Today and tomorrow, I’ll be posting one chapter each. I’m really sorry. I feel terrible for the readers who manage to read through my lackluster writing. sniff Chapter 38
13. Hunter037 – Hunter #1
I kept my legs moving non-stop.
Sure, fighting off groups of beasts was one thing, but humans, and armed ones at that? That was a different can of worms!
‘Plus, those guys were strong.’
The murderous intent radiating from them felt like it was on par with or even surpassing that green-skinned warrior, Muhamba, I faced in the past.
What bugged me the most was the guy holding the two-handed sword.
That chunky fellow, called the Leader, screamed “I’m not your average Joe!” even from a distance.
The air of power surrounding him was unmistakably on the same level as tough cookies like Kublai or Yan-Mite.
‘Is this world filled with not just beasts, but human monsters too?’
Those must be what the kids call superhumans.
How long had I been running? I felt my breath quickening, and my mind was going blank.
But I couldn’t stop my legs.
Who knew if those humans were still on my tail?
I intentionally took a long, winding path to throw off any potential pursuers.
‘They don’t seem to be following me. Have I managed to shake them off?’
I climbed a tree, doing my best to hide my presence while I surveyed the area.
No signs of pursuit or anything suspicious popped up.
Still, better safe than sorry, so after a few more minutes of vigilance, I climbed down from the tree.
‘What’s going on here?’
According to Witch Eve, humans coming into this forest was not a good omen.
‘Humans…’
Maybe it was because their appearance was just so exotic.
Or maybe it was because I had turned into a beast myself.
But instead of feeling warmth or camaraderie toward the humans I had encountered, I was hit with a wave of suspicion.
I entered the cabin to find Raccoon Leaf sleeping soundly, snoring away.
Next to him were some small fruits and greens that possibly belonged to me.
I took the glowing rock, the luminescent stone, hanging from the ceiling and tucked it away in a corner.
Humans had intelligence and judgment far exceeding that of beasts.
A mere hint could spell my doom, so I wanted to keep my guard up.
—Wake up, Leaf. Wake up.
I gently shook Leaf to wake him.
Rubbing his red eyes, Leaf groggily sat up.
—What’s going on?
—It’s humans. They’ve come to the forest.
—Hmm, what? No, uh… is it a human!? Hm!
—Shhh!
I clamped my hand over Leaf’s mouth and brought my finger to my lips.
—Keep it down. They might still be nearby.
Understanding my silent gesture, he nodded.
I removed my hand from his mouth.
—Humans? Are you sure they’re real? You didn’t mistake them for monkeys or something, did you?
—No, they were definitely humans! They were wielding weapons!
I showed him the longsword stored away in the corner of his wooden abode.
—By the way, where did this come from?
—I found it in the bushes a few years back.
A few years back, huh?
According to Witch Eve, humans invaded the forest massively over a decade ago.
So maybe I picked up some loot left behind back then? Or perhaps there’s a trickle of humans sneaking in and out of the forest.
I couldn’t know for sure, but it was possible there had been small bands of humans like those in the past.
‘That group I saw earlier didn’t look all that big.’
Back then, I was too surprised and flustered to think straight.
But now that I think about it, they were wearing skins like wild boars, pretending to be animals.
Trying to deduce why they’d need such suspicious disguises, it seemed more likely they were a small infiltration team trying to sneak into the forest.
You could even call them spies.
And the very fact that they were sneaking in couldn’t bode well—perhaps it was a sign that something big was about to go down.
‘Of course, I could be just being paranoid.’
Maybe they were just simple poachers.
‘But it never hurts to be cautious.’
I decided it was best to keep a low profile for the time being.
—Leaf, be careful too. Don’t approach anything suspicious.
—Uh, okay. You’re worried about me?
Leaf moved his front paw toward me like he wanted to hug, but I pushed his face away with my paw in surprise.
—D-Don’t stick to me like that!
—You’re being cold.
—Anyway, just keep cautious for now. If you get spotted by those humans, lure them far away from this cabin. We can’t let our location be compromised.
Once I had sternly warned Leaf, I felt a bit of relief.
Still, that night, I spent with my eyes wide open fretting over a million worried thoughts.
—Well, that was a long night.
I let out a big yawn and stretched. My whole body felt heavy, but it wasn’t unbearable.
As a human, back when I turned twenty, I could pull a few all-nighters without breaking a sweat.
But as I aged, my stamina took a nosedive, and the very thought of all-nighters was daunting, but today, I felt oddly energetic, like I’d returned to those days.
‘A single all-nighter? Pssh, I can handle that.’
I pressed my ears against the wooden wall to listen for sounds outside.
‘Doing this daily is such a hassle. If only I had set up some sort of CCTV outside.’
With that lazy thought in my head, I turned my gaze.
Leaf, who had woken up early the previous morning, was still curled up, snoring away, perhaps enjoying a lie-in.
‘A tool to check outside or even a small window would be great.’
Of course, since I was all thumbs, I’d have to have Leaf do it.
I figured I could just provide him with various ideas, and he’d craft something for me through our collaborative efforts.
Expecting there to be no signs of trouble outside, I cautiously poked my head out of the cabin.
The chirping of birds, the dew moistening the ground, and the sunlight filtering through the leaves created an ordinary, peaceful morning scene.
‘Nothing seems to be happening?’
I decided to explore around the cabin.
With the stealth skill in play, I could glide through the underbrush unnoticed while observing the forest.
‘What’s this?’
As I explored the area around Leaf’s house, I stumbled upon a clump of vegetation I hadn’t seen before.
The way the leaves and branches were clumped together screamed trap!
‘Did they dig a hole or something?’
My mind flickered back to the time I fell into one of Leaf’s pit traps.
Those leaves reeked of something shady.
I listened carefully to determine if I could catch any other noises.
While birds continued chirping, I didn’t sense any significant movement.
‘Guess I should take a look.’
Swallowing hard, I slowly emerged from the foliage.
With careful steps, I stealthily approached the pile of leaves that had formed a wide mound.
Soon, I realized it was a makeshift net woven from leaves and branches.
To be more precise, it seemed like they had covered a net with leaves, concealing it from view, and it was firmly staked into the ground beneath.
The net was solid; even when I pressed down, it didn’t budge an inch.
Underneath the net, I could see a gaping hole, deep and wide enough to fit a dozen or so meters.
It seemed that if a heavy creature passed over the net, it would sag and trap them in the hole below.
I turned my gaze from the trap, wandering around the forest.
Before long, I realized multiple traps were spread throughout the area surrounding Leaf’s house and the Southern Forest.
I’d found five or so just as I traveled.
‘How did they manage to set up these pits in just a day?’
Knowing that digging isn’t exactly easy work, I was somewhat flabbergasted.
And what could possibly require such large traps, anyway?
‘Are they planning to catch an elephant or something?’
As I pondered this with a hand on my chin, an earth-shaking BOOM sent all the forest’s birds flying into the sky.
‘What? What was that?’
I suddenly turned my head toward the source of the loud sound.
Crack! Crack! The deep sound of trees snapping rang out.
KRAAA! A loud, terrifying scream echoed through the woods, sending chills down my spine.
I flicked my gaze between the trap in front of me and the direction of the noise.
Something was going down, and I had a hunch it involved those trap-setting jokers—the trio I’d seen earlier!
*
“Don’t let him escape, Erik!”
“It’s not as easy as it looks, you know!”
“We’re out of tranquilizer darts!”
Breaking through the bushes, I saw three humans struggling against a single beast.
Perched high in a tree, I crouched low, watching the chaos unfold.
“Stay still, you little bugger!”
A man wielding dual daggers had managed to jump onto the rampaging beast’s back, stabbing it between the scales with his left dagger and repeatedly jabbing at its back with the right.
—Get lost! Get lost, you humans!
The massive dinosaur, Tracker Yan-Mite, roared in anger.
“Ugh, that’s one impressive roar,” the hunter with the bow said, covering his ears as he hunched down.
‘What on earth is going on?’
I strained my eyes, trying to grasp the situation.
From what I could tell, the trio of humans was clearly struggling to capture the dinosaur Yan-Mite.
They were surrounded by gaping holes and fallen trees.
—Get off me, flying insect!
Yan-Mite thrashed around, desperately trying to throw off the man on his back by smashing into trees and rocks.
Yet, despite the dual daggers sticking firmly into its scales, the man wasn’t budging.
It looked like a rodeo cowboy trying to stay on a wild bull—it was a wrestling match that seemed to last quite a while.
—Ugh…
Having expended a lot of energy moving its massive body, the Tracker Yan-Mite finally slumped, panting heavily.
“Wow, you tire out quicker than I thought,” the man said with a cocky grin as he stepped further up the dinosaur’s back.
With acrobatic finesse, he climbed up to the dinosaur’s head, switched the grip on his dagger, and stabbed it right in Yan-Mite’s eye.
—KRAAAAAH!
In sheer pain, Yan-Mite flailed and collapsed to the ground.
“Nice job! Erik! Leave the finishing blow to me!”
Seizing the opportunity, the man with the two-handed sword raised his weapon high above his head.
Even from a distance, I could see his arm muscles tensing up.
“Ha!”
With a battle cry, the man brought the sword crashing down.
The massive blade, easily weighing hundreds of kilos, fell like a meteor, embedding deep into Yan-Mite’s torso.
“I thought I’d slice him in half. Those scales are tough! He really is the ruler of the forest.”
—KRAAAA, you… you lot!
Severely injured, Yan-Mite writhed on the ground and swung his tail.
But the more it struggled, the wider the gaping wound in its chest became, spilling even more bl**d.
The humans quickly distanced themselves from the thrashing dinosaur.
“It’s making a hell of a lot of noise. What’s it saying?”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Erik. A beast can’t talk!”
“Good point.”
Laughing at the flailing tracking king, they seemed to be enjoying themselves.
“Don’t get too cocky. Beasts like these become more dangerous after being injured. They fight until the bitter end.”
The man with the two-handed sword re-adjusted his grip on his weapon with a clink.
Unlike the two laid-back fellows, this guy’s demeanor was sharpened like a blade.
—Ugh, you punks. I’m gonna k*ll you all!
Whether it was from his bl**d or sheer excitement, Yan-Mite’s body was starting to turn red.
“They’re berserking! Everyone, stay alert!”
—KRAAAAAAA!
With Yan-Mite’s howl, every hair on my body stood on end, a good ten meters away.
That was one intense pressure.
—Since it comes to this, I’ll use my trump card! Brace yourself, humans!
With a fierce snarl, Yan-Mite bellowed.
I thought it was the perfect opportunity to gauge the true strength of this forest master compared to those humans.
However, contrary to all expectations, Yan-Mite turned around and fled.
“What? It’s running away!?”
“It’s cut off its tail and bolted!”
[Author’s Note] Thank you! From tomorrow, I’ll be posting two episodes, one at midnight and the other at three!
Your pre-votes, recommendations, and coupons will help bring some Wildlings to the fridge of a poor student with no food ㅠㅠ
